“On the positive side, it could be taken as a sign of originality. Alternatively, it makes thinking up an elevator pitch on the spot a bit difficult. I totally think we’re comfortable with the folk label, though. When you break our songs down to their core, the writing is strongly entrenched in a folk style and tradition.”
Labenski narrows it down to how the Rivers’ describe themselves in their Instagram bio, “Folk ‘n roll and country soul, which is what we’ve been riding with for the past little while.”
Devan and Khalid made up a singer-songwriter/folk duo as undergrads at Queen’s University. Ben also went to Queen’s, and he and Khalid met on a weekend-long biology field trip in third year.
He confides, “Khal probably won’t like me telling this, and I definitely exaggerate the story, but I brought my guitar and some beers up for the weekend, anticipating some late-night campfires, and he probably ended up playing my guitar for 90% of the night… which ironically made us buddies!”
After graduation, Glover and Yassein “tapped me to track drums for their debut album, eventually asking me to come aboard full time. I had been playing in a band with Andrew, whom I knew from my hometown, so when Dev and Khal told me they were looking for one more versatile dude, Andy was the first person who came to my mind.”
The band’s self-titled CD provides a whole field of opinion for what’s the catchiest tune, but Labenski says the biggest fan response has come from the lead single, Wandering Child, and Ben at first called it his favourite, but now he puts Undercover at the top of the list, “perhaps because it’s the most ‘indie’ sounding song, which is a genre that I gravitate towards.
“We don’t play it live very much anymore, so maybe I prefer it because it’s a fresher listen. We actually had a fan in
Wild Rivers considers
“We’ve passed through many times – my family has a place in Parry Sound, and Devan’s family has a place in Collingwood, but we’ve never actually stopped by (unless you count the OnRoute or the cottage traffic). A good high school friend of mine now lives in
Ben concludes by asking their audience, as the show takes place the night before Good Friday, to leave open the possibility of one song with an Easter flavour.
“We’ve been so busy the past few months recording and finishing up our sophomore record, that we haven’t had any time to learn anything new and fun!
“(But) I won’t completely rule out that we sneak something in there… (Perhaps) Amazing Grace?”
Wild Rivers play Donaleighs Irish Public House,
